For 37 years,
Emmerson Mnangagwa was Robert Mugabe’s right-hand man and one of his staunchest
defenders. “Zanu-PF is a sacred party,” he told a crowd at a ZANU-PF rally
earlier this year in central Zimbabwe. “It will rule and rule. Those barking
will continue doing that while Zanu-PF remains in power. Forward with Mr
Mugabe. Forward with Zanu-PF.”

What a
difference a few months make. This month, deposed Vice President Emmerson
Mnangagwa — nicknamed “the Crocodile” for his cunning guerrilla tactics in
Zimbabwe’s independence war — led the effort to oust the longtime president and
is expected to be sworn in as president Wednesday or Thursday following
Mugabe's resignation.